Around $238,000 will make its way to the schools (including Kindersley’s schools) in the SunWest School Division after Premier Scott Moe announced that $7.5 million will be immediately released towards education across the province of Saskatchewan.
The newly elected Premier of Saskatchewan didn’t waste much time in starting to enact some of his campaign promises, as, according to a media release early last week, an immediate release of funds will pour directly into province-wide classroom supports.
Guy Tétrault, Director of SunWest School Division says that the news was like “Christmas all over again.” SunWest has 41 schools to spread the funding over, and while Tétrault says it’s too early to tell exactly where all the funding will go, the division has general “hot spots” that they will now be able to address.
“It could mean more Teachers’ Aids for classrooms with an influx of children after the beginning of the school year, and it could also be used to increase the availability of services for school children, like psychologists for instance. We are literally shopping for our options as we speak.”
Ken Francis, the Saskatchewan Party candidate for the Kindersley area MLA position backed his party’s decision with these upbeat words: “It is always a positive when additional funding is allocated to a particular sector, especially when that sector has been negatively affected by previous budgets.”
Francis was referring to the $60 million cut to the education sector in the March 2017 budget. With the election of Saskatchewan’s new Premier, however, rumblings of change echoed from the legislative building.
In a recent media release from the province of Saskatchewan, Premier Moe says during his campaign for the Premier position he was impressed by the need of educators in our province. “Over the last several months, I have heard from parents and educators that additional funding is essential to ensure that our children receive the highest quality education possible,” Premier Moe said. “This $7.5 million in immediate funding will put essential classroom supports in place before we introduce the full amount of $30 million in the 2018-19 budget.”
As Moe says, this immediate release of funds is earlier than expected and will allow school divisions to hire more educational professionals.
“I fundamentally believe that not a wheel turns in our economy without quality education and that societies that prosper and succeed are those that invest in education,” Deputy Premier and Education Minister Gordon Wyant said in the Government of Saskatchewan media release. “Premier Moe and I are committed to ensuring Saskatchewan students have the supports they need to succeed and today’s announcement is just the beginning of a renewed and respectful relationship with our teachers and education partners.”
Dr. Shawn Davidson, President of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA), says he looks forward to this funding as a start for the rest of the 2018-19 budget, adding that the “renewed investment is critically needed in school division operating budgets.”
In a recent quote release, Francis noted that as the economy of the province continues to improve that funding will continue to grow for education and other sectors. “This latest measure shows that the SaskParty obviously cares about teachers and the education that they provide.”
Things are definitely looking up for the Kindersley schools with this development, and students and educators alike can look to the end of this school year with confidence.
Feature Image Source: Kindersley Composite School – Mallorie Rast/Kindersley Social
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